Bill HD.4651

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4651 FILED ON: 3/14/2018

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No.

By Mr. Cantwell of Marshfield, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of James M. Cantwell relative to the regulation and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles, so called drones. The Judiciary.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act relative to the regulation and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 266 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after Section 120E the following section:

Section 120F:

(a.)As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:

“Unmanned aerial vehicle,”- A self-propelling, mechanized vehicle capable of flight without a human pilot on board that is operated either autonomously by computer or by an individual from outside the vehicle.

“Critical infrastructure facility”- a facility that is owned or leased for one of the following purposes:

(i)A petroleum or chemical production, transportation, storage, or processing facility

(ii)An electrical power generating facility, substation, switching station or electrical control center.

(iii)A chemical, polymer or rubber manufacturing facility

(iv)A water or wastewater treatment facility and water distribution, a water intake facility, or conveyance system.

(v)A power generating station plant or substation

(vi)A federal or state military installation or facility

(vii)A correctional facility or law enforcement facility

(viii)A gas processing plant, including a plant used in the processing, treatment, compressing, or fractionation of natural gas

(ix)A liquid natural gas terminal or storage facility

(x)A wireless telecommunications infrastructure or central switching office

(xi)A transmission facility used by a federally licensed radio or television station

(xii)A port, railroad switching yard, trucking terminal, bus terminal, or other freight transportation facility

(xiii)A steelmaking facility that uses an electric arc furnace to make steel

(xiv)Any portion of an above-ground oil, gas, or chemical pipeline

(xv)A hospital or medical care facility

(xvi)A facility identified and regulated by the United States Department of Homeland Security Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program

(b.) A person shall not operate an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) within 5 miles of an airport unless said person:

(i) obtains consent of the airport authority or the operator of the airport, or

(ii)obtains a waiver, exemption, or other authorization of such operation pursuant to any rule or regulation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and,

(iii)maintains on his or her person documentation of any waiver, exemption, authorization, or consent permitting such operation.

(c.)Whoever, without right, operates an unmanned aerial vehicle less than 250 feet of a private dwelling, house, or buildings of another, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days or both such fine and imprisonment.

(d.)This section shall not be applied to unmanned aerial vehicles operated by:

(1)law enforcement or public agents;

(2)tenants or occupants of the real property under which the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying;

(3)legally authorized individuals operating in the flight path for landing at an airport, airfield, or runway; or

(4)businesses lawfully operating in the state, if:

(i)the operator is licensed or otherwise approved to operate the unmanned aerial vehicle by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA);

(ii)the unmanned aerial vehicle is being operated within the scope of the lawful activities of the business; or,

(iii)the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle does not unreasonably interfere with the existing use of the real property.

(e.)A person who owns or lawfully occupies real property may bring an action for trespass against the owner or operator of an unmanned aerial vehicle that is flown at a height of less than 250 feet over the property, if:

(1)the owner or operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle has flown the unmanned aerial vehicle over the property at a height of less than 250 feet on at least one previous occasion; and

(2)the person who owns or occupies the real property notified the owner or operator of the unmanned aerial vehicle that the person did not authorize the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle over the property at a height of less than 250 feet.

(f.)A person shall not be guilty of trespass, if the unmanned aerial vehicle is:

(1)lawfully in the flight path for landing at an airport, airfield, or runway;

(2)in the process of taking off or landing;

(3)under the lawful operation of a law enforcement agency in accordance with Chapter 272 Section 99C of the General Laws; or,

(4)under the lawful operation of a business licensed in this State

(g.)An unmanned aerial vehicle was under the lawful operation of a land surveyor licensed in

this State, registered under chapter one hundred and twelve, if:

i.the operator is licensed or otherwise approved to operate the unmanned aerial vehicle by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA);

ii.Whenever a land surveyor registered under chapter one hundred and twelve deems it reasonably necessary to enter upon adjoining lands to make surveys of any description included under ''Practice of land surveying'', as defined in section 81d of said chapter 112, for any private person, excluding any public authority, public utility or railroad, the land surveyor or his authorized agents or employees may, after reasonable notice, enter upon lands, waters and premises, not including buildings, in the commonwealth, within a reasonable distance from the property line of the land being surveyed, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass. Nothing in this act shall relieve a land surveyor of liability for damage caused by entry to adjoining property, by himself or his agents or employees.

iii.The unmanned aerial vehicle is being operated within the scope of the lawful activities of the land surveyor; and

iv.the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle does not unreasonably interfere with the existing use of the real property.

(h.)Whoever uses any unmanned aerial vehicle in a negligent manner over a heavily populated area or over a public gathering within the state and simultaneously causes damage to persons shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50,000 or up to 5 years in the House of Correction.

(i.)Whoever operates an unmanned aircraft over a critical infrastructure facility or comes within a distance of 250 feet over the ground level of a critical infrastructure facility that interferes with the operations of the facility without the written consent of the owner of the critical infrastructure facility shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 12 months or a fine of not more than $5,000.

Section 3. Section 43 of Chapter 265 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding, in line 19, after the words, “instant messages,” the following words:

“facsimile communications, or unmanned aerial vehicle transmissions.”

Section 5. Chapter 272 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after Section 99A the following Section:

Section 99B:

(a.)As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:

“Surveillance,”-

1.With respect to an owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee of privately owned real property, the observation of such persons with sufficient visual clarity to be able to obtain information about their identity, habits, conduct, movements, or whereabouts; or

2.With respect to privately owned real property, the observation of such property’s physical domain with sufficient visual clarity to be able to determine unique identifying features or its occupancy by one or more persons.

b. Any use of an unmanned aerial vehicle shall fully comply with all Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements and guidelines. Unmanned aerial vehicles shall not be equipped with weapons.

c. The acquisition, purchase, or procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles shall be authorized, in the case of a unit of state or county government, by the Secretary of Public Safety, or in the case of a municipality, by the city council or other governing body, subject to approval by the Secretary of Public Safety.

(d.)It shall be unlawful for a government entity or official to operate an unmanned aerial vehicle except as follows-

(1)In order to execute a warrant issued under section 2 of chapter 276.

(2)For purposes unrelated to criminal investigation or other law enforcement purposes, provided that information derived from such operation shall not be received in evidence in any criminal trial, hearing, or grand jury proceeding, or maintained, shared, or used for any intelligence purpose.

(3)In case of emergency when there is reasonable cause to believe that a threat to the life or safety of a person is imminent, subject to the following limitations:

i.the operator shall document the factual basis for the emergency; and

ii.not later than 48 hours after the unmanned aerial vehicle is initially deployed, a supervisory official shall file an affidavit describing the grounds for the emergency access.

(e.)The lawful operation of unmanned aerial vehicles described in subsection (d) and the disclosure of information acquired by the operation of such vehicles shall be subject to the following limitations:

(1)when operated pursuant to a warrant, unmanned aerial vehicles shall collect data only on the warrant subject and avoid data collection on individuals, homes, and areas other than the warrant subject;

(2)facial recognition and other biometric matching technology shall not be used on data collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle, except to identify the subject of a warrant; and

(3)under no circumstances shall unmanned aerial vehicles be used to track, collect, or maintain information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership or other entity unless such information relates directly to investigation of criminal activity, and there are reasonable grounds to suspect the subject of the information is involved in criminal conduct.

(f.)Data collected on an individual, home, or area other than the target that justified deployment shall not be used, stored, copied, uploaded, transmitted, or disclosed for any purpose, except with the written consent of the data subject. Such data shall be deleted as soon as practical, and in no event later than 72 hours after collection.

(g.)Information acquired by government use of an unmanned aerial vehicle and information derived therefrom shall not be received in evidence in any judicial, regulatory, or other government proceeding, if:

(1)the use of the unmanned aerial vehicle was unlawful;

(2)the unmanned aerial vehicle was used for an unlawful purpose or in an unlawful manner; or

(3)the disclosure would be in violation of the data retention limits in subsection (d).

(h.)A government office or public official may include in its application for a warrant a request for an order delaying the notification required under subsection (f) for a period not to exceed 90 days, and the court shall issue the order if it determines there is reason to believe that notification of the existence of the warrant may have an adverse result as defined in section 1B of chapter 276. Upon expiration of any period of delay granted under this subsection, the government office or public official shall provide the warrant subject a copy of the warrant together with notice required under, and by means described in, subsection (g).

(i.)Not later than seven days after information is collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of this section, the government entity or official shall serve upon, or deliver by registered or first-class mail, electronic mail, or other written means reasonably calculated to be effective as specified by the court issuing the warrant to the subject of the warrant a copy of the warrant, a copy of the application for the warrant, and notice that informs such individual:

(1)of the nature of the law enforcement inquiry with reasonable specificity;

(2)that information regarding the warrant subject was collected, the dates on which the information was collected, and a description of that information;

(3)whether notification was delayed pursuant to subsection (g); and

(4)the judicial official authorizing any delay in notification.

(j.)On the second Friday of January of each calendar year, any judge issuing or denying a warrant under subsection (b)(1) during the preceding calendar year shall report on each such warrant to the office of court management within the trial court:

(1)the fact that the warrant was applied for;

(2)the identity of the government entity or official making the application

(3)the offense specified in the warrant or application therefor;

(4)the place where the information was to be obtained;

(5)the fact that the warrant was granted as applied for, was modified, or was denied;

(6)the date and time when the warrant was granted as applied for, was modified, or was denied; and

(7)the number and duration of any extensions of the warrant.

(k.)In June of each year, the court administrator in the office of court management within the trial court shall transmit to the legislature a full and complete report concerning the number of applications for warrants authorizing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of this section. Such reports shall include a summary and analysis of the data required to be filed with that office. Such reports shall be filed with the offices of the clerk of the house and the senate and shall be public records. the court administrator in the office of court management within the trial court shall issue guidance regarding the form of such reports.

Section 7. Section 65 of Chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding, in line 3, after the word, “helicopter,” the following words:

“unmanned aerial vehicle,”.

Section 8. Section 65A of Chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding, in line 2, after the word, “computer,” the following words:

“, unmanned aerial vehicle,”.

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
James M. Cantwell	4th Plymouth	3/14/2018